Posts By
Zara Golden

“Miriam,” off of Norah Jones‘ recent Little Broken Heart, is as leaden a lullaby as a lullaby can be. In the new Phil Andelman-directed video, Norah sits alone in row boat, floating quietly on a twilight lit Texas pond and singing about just how nice a name Miriam could be. But, pretty as could be in her red dress, she is a woman scorned, and nothing else is so peaceful as it seems. “Never been the killing kind, but I know what you did,” she warns. “Now I’ve saved the best for you.” And well, what was started in the “Happy Pills” video gets finished and we are reminded that no water should sit so still.

Justin Bieber is campaigning hard for his adult credentials, and he’s roped real-grown man Michael Madsen into this latest effort. The video for Believe‘s second single, “As Long As You Love Me,” features the Resevoir Dogs actor as the enemy, aka the father of Justin’s love-interest (who, unlike videos past, doesn’t look that much like Selena). Madsen suggests that Justin keep a distance from his daughter because, he warns, “I know what type of guy you are, once upon a time I used to be the same thing.” Young still and virile, Justin insists that they are in love and that he doesn’t “know us,” and then he steals her way with all the blinding confidence his proclamations of “as long as you love me” afford.

There are fancy cars and kisses, an empty garage dance sequence and Big Sean in a black leather hoodie. And then, at the end, the return of Madsen, back to teach Beiber a painful lesson. Growing up is tough, and when those bruises fade, Justin — desperate to be rid of his baby face — might just like what he sees. Read more…

Nicki Minaj, who is not afraid to rep a brand if it will help her empire, vogues hard in this new Adidas commercial. On board specifically to rep Jeremy Scott’s cheeky-as-she Originals line, the spot features Minaj and the designer himself, strutting through the streets of New York in his vibrant puffy jackets. Fly looking people — including Adida’s alums Big Sean and Sky Ferreira — in cool looking cities worldwide meanwhile dance to the Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded bonus track, “Masquerade.”

Of the campaign, Minaj told Rolling Stone that she has been an Adidas fan for “a very long time” and that “‘Masquerade” works well because it is about “feeling inspired to win and to never give up.” Much like, she says, the Olympics. “That’s what it’s really about: giving people hope and you know, that’s what I wanted to convey in song,” she says. We probably won’t be taking gold anytime soon, but we certainly could stop pickup a new puffy coat or two. But would we look so cool as Nicki? That, that’s what we’ll have to hope for.

Last night’s most inspirational late night moment came surely from Conan guests The Fray, who broke from their tour with Kelly Clarkson to perform “Run For Your Life,” the most recent single from their Scars and Stories. Conan’s cozy sound stage is not nearly so expansive as, say, the California desert, and so it was the jangling keys and Issac Slade’s rough-hewn insistence that “You don’t have to go it alone” needed to be motivation enough. And last night they were, Slade’s laced-up red Converse sneakers and anxious seat insuring that he would be close behind should you so chose to run.

Snoop Dogg is 40-years-old, and he’s ready to try something new. At midlife, the gin-and-juice guzzling gangster rapper has been Reincarnated as the reggae legend Snoop Lion, for an upcoming all-reggae album and accompanying documentary (for which you can check out the trailer below), but also for the sake of his enlightened self. Yesterday, in a Rasta knit cap and a Kobe Bryant jersey, Uncle Snoop sat down with the New York Times at a trendy Caribbean restaurant in New York to talk about what exactly it all means. Good vibes all around.

Yesterday, Pitbull packed up his parkas and Sheetz and shipped-out to the far-flung Kodiak, Alaska — as per the Internet’s wont — where he made good on his promise to visit the Walmart with the most “Likes” on Facebook. While in town, the warm-blooded but good-natured rapper mingled with the town’s 6,100 localsat Walmart, performed at their (très scenic!) Coast Guard base, and dodged bears. And all the while, he and David Thorpe, the jokester responsible for the #exile turned traveling partner, tweeted so as to assure that they were surviving and to prove that they were even having fun, to boot! At day’s end, Mr. World Order thanked his hosts, saying that he was “honored, truly,” and promising to work a Kodiak shout-out into a future song. Then he packed up his gifted bear-survival kit (repellant, bells) and bounced for a warmer climate. Dale!

Click through for an unlikely photo of Mr. World Order and one very tall Kodiak local…

The show will live on September 6th at 8 p.m. EST from the Staples Center in Los Angeles, and it will feature performances from Alicia Keys and One Direction, assuring that viewers will be the real winners that night.

OOPS! CNN CALLS SARAH PALIN A “STUPID GIRL”
The news network opened a segment about Palin and Chick-Fil-A with P!nk‘s classic kiss-off, “Stupid Girls.” They’ve since issued a statement insisting that, “The music selection was a poor choice and was not intended to be linked to any news story.” [Mediaite]